Tuesday, June 25, 2013

All of the children attended Vacation Bible School from 8:30am- 12:00!

Oh my- I loved my time in the mornings!

I am thinking VBS should last all summer!It was so nice to get a few things done and visit with a few friends!

By 12:00 I was ready to pick up our crew!I missed the munchkins!

This is a highlight of the summer and they have already asked when can they go back!

This is Luke's first preschool experience!Sarah is one of his teachers!

Anna, Ava and Melissa are together in the 2nd grade class room!

Abby and Sam are in the first grade room together!Sam keeps an eye on Abby for me!And... Abby keeps an eye on Sam!

Emma is in the 5th grade classroom. This was her last year. The other kids and teachers are always so kind to her!Ellie and Mia are in fourth grade BUT they were in different classroom.Yes, that was planned!The girls get along well but Ellie's self esteem is low and Mia is only 4 months out of the orphanage.In a heartbeat Mia would grab the opportunity to make fun of Ellie in front of others.It's the old "make fun of another person weaker than me so I look better" kinda thinking...Mia is getting much better at this but in a new situation and without her mother's watchful eye she wouldn't be able to resist.Madeline is in the kindergarten room. It was a good fit for her!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Next to turn 8 will be Melissa, then Abby, then Anna, then Ben, the Sam, then Madeline and so on...

The seven kiddos are all within 16 months!

Not our plan but HIS!

We love it!

We celebrated her day with Daddy on Father's Day when everyone was at our house and then again on Monday - her real birthday!

Ava has blossomed in every way!She has such a kind heart and is thoughtful of all her siblings!She loves animals!Our dogs are finally getting the attention and grooming they deserve!She is as smart as can be and loves to read!

Ava loves to help in the house and she is ready and willing to do whatever task we ask of her!

She is in charge of feeding the dogs and at 3:00 every day she feeds them!

Ava knew exactly what she wanted for her birthday!Rollerblades!She was beyond thrilled when her dream came true!

Personal space?

Not at our house!

Everyone wanted a front row seat at the present opening!

Madeline made Ava a paper hat!

We are so blessed to have her as our daughter!

The birthday candles were burning down fast so we had to sing a quick happy birthday song!

And then take a quick pic!

On her actual day she tried out the rollerblades!

They worked out GREAT!

Of course Sammy had to cause a bit of a ruckus!

He loves to smile, he loves to laugh and he talks nonstop!

Ava and Sam came home together and have always had a special bond!

They have been home for 2 years and 2 months!

We went boating in the evening!

It was our first time out this season!

It was a perfect evening!

We went to a popular place on the lake-thinking it would not be crowded.

After all it was Monday night!

We were wrong, it was packed!

I guess Monday night is burger night???

Somehow, we were able to find two tables next to each other.

We squished in together and had a wonderful time!

People look at our large group and right away think their night will be ruined

BUT all the children behave so well that by the time we leave everyone is telling us what great kids we have!

Way to go guys!

Before arriving we discuss the rules and define what a good time is and what a not so good time would look like!

Surprisingly they listen!

(The not so good time would be them at home and only Mommy and Daddy getting to go places!)

It was Mia, Melissa and Madeline's first time on the boat!

They loved it!

It seems the faster we go the more they all would hoot and holler!

So thankful we could get out to celebrate Ava's birthday and enjoy the lake!

The channels are fun to go through.

There are people fishing on the sides of the channels.

We always ask-

"have you caught anything"?

And usually they have!

Boaters always wave to other boaters- it's the friendly thing to do in MN!

About Me

Jim and I have been married for 33 plus years. He is the love of my life and my best friend! We have 5 older birth children and we are adding to our family through the blessings of adoption. We love the Lord Jesus and it is our mission to serve him. We have stumbled along the way but he continues to pick us up and send us on the journey he has planned for us. We are very thankful for that!

Email me!

I love to hear from bloggy readers! However, due to adopting so many treasures and homeschooling them it is challenging for me to find the time to email back. I will try but I can't guarantee I will be able to get back to you. This season will pass and in the future I look forward to being able to answer back! Thank you for your understanding!

jean.mulvahill@gmail.com

Friends to Share With!

Matt, Caitlin and Elodie(not pictured)

Matt (34 yrs old) and Caitlin were married on June 28th, 2014! They live and work in Denver, CO. Matt is working as a biostatistician for Denver Childrens Hospital. Caitlin is a special needs preschool teacher at one of the school districts in Denver. They have a precious little girl named Elodie!

Katie, Andrew, Emily and Ali (not pictured)

Katie (32 yrs) and Andrew were married on July 6th, 2012! They live in Alexandria, Virginia. They have two daughters, Emily 2.5 yrs and Ali 10 months old!

Billy and Kelly (not pictured)

Billy is 29 yrs old! He has his masters in accounting and works at a local accounting firm. Billy and Mark have a house about 15 miles away! It's so nice to have him nearby!

Mark

Mark is 27 yrs old. He is currently working on his masters in business through the Carlson School of Business. We are so happy he is finally living in the same city that we are in!

Johnny

Johnny is 24 yrs old. He is attending the University of St Thomas in St Paul, MN. He is playing for the Tommies soccer team!

Sarah Grace

Sarah is 17 yrs old. She came home in December 2008!

Emma Joy

Emma is 17 yrs old and came home in mid July 2010 along with her biological sister Ellie!

Ella Mei

Ellie is 15 yrs old and came home with her bio sister Emma in mid July 2010!

Mia Christine

Mia is 16 yrs old! She came home on February 2nd, 2013!

Ava Marie

Ava is 12 yrs old! She has been home since April 1st, 2011!

Melissa Faith

Melissa is 12 yrs old! She came home from China in early February 2013!

Abigail Elizabeth

Abby is 12 yrs old! She came home in December 2011!

Anna Violet

Anna is 11 yrs old. She has been home since August of 2007!

Benjamin David

Ben is 11 yrs old. He came home from China in early December 2013!

Samuel Jacob

Sam is 11 yrs old. He has been home since April 1st, 2011!

Madeline Mary

Madeline is 11 yrs old. She came home from China in early February 2013!

Joseph Michael

Joey is 9 yrs old! He came home with his new brother Ben this past December 2013!

Luke Lewis

Luke is 9 yrs old! He is our youngest! He came home in December 2011!

Quick Update On Us!

Hubby and I have 5 bio kids that are currently 21-31 yrs old. As our bio children were leaving the nest we felt called to serve our Lord through the blessings of adoption!

We have adopted 13 waiting children from China! Anna came home first on August 8th, 2007 (at 16 months). She is currently 9 yrs old! Sarah came home on December 5th, 2008 (at 8.5 yrs old). She is 15 yrs old now. Emma and Ellie came home on July 19th, 2010! They are bio sibs, and were 8 and 10 yrs old when they came home! They are now 14 and 12 yrs old. Next we brought home Sam at 4.5 yrs old and Ava Marie at 5.5 yrs old at the time of their adoption. They came home on April 1st, 2011 and are now 8.5 yrs and 10 yrsold.! Both of the kids are from Henan Province.

On our 5th adoption trip we journeyed to Abby and Luke. They came home at 5.5 and 3 yrs old. They have adjusted well! They are currently 9 and 6 years old!

We will traveled back to China for adoption trip #6 in January 2013. This time God blessed us with 3 lovely daughters from China! Mia is 12 years old, Melissa is 9 years old and Madeline is 8 years old now. We feel so very blessed to have these darling girls in our family!

Our 7th and last adoption trip to China was to bring home our two boys- Ben 7 yrs and Joseph 5 yrs. The boys are now 9 and 6.5 yrs old

We have had many many procedures and surgeries over the years, God has been so very kind and they have been amazingly successful!! We still have more surgeries in our future and we will rely on HIM and pray our way through.

Hubby and I are passionate about special needs adoption. We feel called to adopt and we are loving every minute of it! We are both in our mid to late 50's. We can't think of anything we would love to do more than what we are doing right now! We are thankful for this opportunity to enjoy these wonderful children!

We have chosen to home school our children from China. When adopting older children they really don't fit into one grade, they are combination of many grades (including 2nd in math but Pre-k in reading/phonics). We also feel like we missed out on so many years with our wonderful children, we don't want to miss out on any more! Plus it is great for attachment and bonding!!

If you are considering adoption feel free to email or message me with any questions you may have!